“I respect Richie McCaw. His leadership, his role as captain of the All Blacks and his great presence on and off the field.These days he’s a pilot himself!” – Stephen Willis, to Olympic.com
Willis is a captain on and off the field. When he’s not leading his men in rugby sevens matches, he flies 34-seater and 15-seater commercial aircraft, as well as small corporate jets.
Airplanes and rugby don’t seem to have many similarities at face value, but Willis has shown similarities while leading his team.
“My favorite thing about flying, just like rugby, is that you have to take on different challenges every day,” he said.
“When you wake up, the weather isn’t always the same. There are things you have to deal with, like a grumpy passenger. So you adapt, find a way to succeed, and make the best of any situation.” I have to do my best.”
“Being any type of captain comes with a lot of responsibility, but I like to lead by example. But sometimes I get a little too passionate on the rugby pitch and get weird. I have to admit that there have been times when I have received yellow cards and played a few minutes in the sin bin.”
It probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, then, to learn that Willis’ main sporting inspiration is a New Zealand rugby legend who shares the same passion.
“I respect Richie McCaw. His leadership, his role as captain of the All Blacks and his great presence on and off the field. He’s a pilot himself these days, so I really respect him. ”